Yes and No in Krav Maga and Life
BY MOSHE KATZ 
CEO
ISRAELI KRAV INTERNATIONAL

May 9, 2025, Israel

The Talmud talks about oaths, vows, there are two kinds, positive and negative, i.e. I swear that I will not eat grapes, or, I swear that I will eat grapes. It is either yes, or no. 

But in some aspects of life it is neither yes, or no, or it is both. Sometimes we are in the Twilight Zone and vision can be blurry.

It is Friday, and the Sabbath begins in a few hours. I decided to pick up a few items I might need before the local Makolet, grocery store, closes. As I was walking down the road I saw my dear friend/student Rafi S. and then Aryeh walked up. I asked, "Aryeh, is the Makolet still open? as he had just walked by it and should know. "I don't know nothing". He answered, as is his habit. 

I reached the store, bought a few items quickly, and walked back up the road towards my home. Now I saw Aryeh walking downhill, "So" he asked, "Was it open or not?"

I said the answer is neither yes or no, open or closed, but something...in between. 

You see as I was approaching the store I noticed that the entry tour was already shut, but the exit door was still open, and there I saw Miki, the owner about to lock up. I asked if the store was still open. I have known him since the store opened decades ago when his late father ran it, he said, sure, but hurry up. Thus I could not say, Yes, the store is open, or even, Yes, the store was open, for that is not entirely true or accurate, and yet, how could I say the store was closed when I had in my hands bags of groceries?

Thus I answered, it is neither open nor closed. Much like Kafka's Der Prozess (1914-5) the door is neither open nor closed, and such is the human dilemma. And it occured to me, walking home with my groceries, that such is life, and such is Krav Maga self-defense.

Sometimes life is not a yes or a no, but a grey area, the Twilight Zone, where it is difficult to discern the correct path to take. Sometimes it is not a matter of yes or no, open or closed, but a door like in Der Prozess, that is open for a time but not everyone can enter, and not everyone knows they can enter and not everyone knows how to enter, and then, when the time comes, the door is shut closed, never to be opened again. And the tragedy is that the door was actually opened specifically for you.

But that is a life, a door opens, an window of opportunity, we all get them but not all of us know how to enter, of that we even may enter, we think the door is not for us. 

And so it is with Krav Maga, there is an opening, a correct time to strike, a correct time to apply that famous aggressiveness, but it is fleeting, and we must be ready, for the opportunity is there for all, but is brief.

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Moshe Katz, 7th dan Black Belt, Israeli Krav Maga. Certified by Wingate Institute. Member Black Belt hall of fame, USA and Europe.

Understand the Israeli Fighting Mentality - Israel a Nation of Warriors by Moshe Katz

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What is the cultural background of Krav Maga?  What makes it unique? What makes the Israeli military so effective? Why are Israeli security systems used all over the world?

What are the Biblical origins of Krav Maga and who was the first Krav Maga instructor?

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